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Koch History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Koch History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Germany

Bavaria, Germany is the ancestral home of the Koch family. The Koch surname is derived from the Latin word "coquus," which denotes the "art of cookery." Koch was originally an occupational name, for a cook.

Early Origins of the Koch family

The surname Koch was first found in Bavaria, where the family made a considerable contribution to the feudal society which shaped modern Europe.

Early History of the Koch family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Koch research. Another 296 words (21 lines of text) covering the years 1544, 1552, 1637, 1688, 1694, 1738, 1747, 1748, 1769, 1815 and 1852 are included under the topic Early Koch History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Koch Spelling Variations

Many cultural groups lived in the German states in medieval times. Each had its own dialect and traditions, and unique variations of popular names. Low German, which is similar to contemporary Dutch, was spoken in Westphalia. German names are characterized by additions such as regional suffixes and phrases that tell something about the origin or background of its original bearer. Further contributing to the variation in German names was the fact that there were no spelling rules in medieval times: scribes recorded names according to their sound. The recorded spelling variations of Koch include Koch, Koche, Kochen, Koech, Koeche, Koechen, Coch, Coche, Cochen, Coech, Coeche, Coechen, Koechle, Koechly, Koechli, Kock, Kochs, Kocks and many more.

Early Notables of the Koch family

Prominent among members of the name Koch in this period include

Conrad Reinhold von Koch, an advisor on justice at the royal Schleswig-Holstein court, who was knighted in 1769...
Johann David Koch (b.1747), owner of the estates Gottmannsgruen and Rudolphstein, was knighted in 1815...

Koch World Ranking

In the United States, the name Koch is the 736^th most popular surname with an estimated 39,792 people with that name. [1] However, in France, the name Koch is ranked the 1,342^nd most popular surname with an estimated 4,234 people with that name. [2] And in Australia, the name Koch is the 807^th popular surname with an estimated 4,854 people with that name. [3] Netherlands ranks Koch as 610^th with 2,944 people. [4]

Koch migration to the United States +

The great European flow of migration to North America, which began in the middle of the 17th century and continued into the 20th century, was particularly attractive to those from Bavaria who wished to escape either poverty or religious persecution. For many Bavarian tenant farmers, the chance to own their own land was a major incentive. So the widespread colonization of the United States began in 1650, when many immigrants from Germany settled in pockets in Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, Illinois, and California. In Canada, German settlement centered in Ontario and the prairie provinces. Among those of this surname listed in various historical records were:

Koch Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Anna Maria Koch, who settled in New York City in 1709
Johann Koch, who arrived in America in 1709
Georg Ludwig Koch, who settled in New York City in 1710
Jacob Koch, who arrived in North Carolina in 1722 [5]
Caspar Koch, who settled in Carolina in 1738
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Koch Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Franz Lambert Koch, who arrived in America in 1814-1820 [5]
Philipp Koch, who arrived in America in 1825 [5]
Wendel Koch, who landed in America in 1825 [5]
Jorge Koch, who landed in America in 1826 [5]
Heinrich Koch, who landed in Baltimore, Maryland in 1832 [5]
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Koch migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Koch Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Miss Pauline Koch, (b. 1851), aged 21, Scandinavian maid servant travelling from Hamburg aboard the ship "Palmerston" arriving in Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 12th December 1872 [6]

Contemporary Notables of the name Koch (post 1700) +

David Hamilton Koch (1940-2019), American businessman, philanthropist, political activist, and chemical engineer
Christof Koch (b. 1956), American neuroscientist
William Koch (b. 1974), American former Major League Baseball relief pitcher
Edward Irving "Ed" Koch (1924-2003), American lawyer, politician, and political commentator
Kenneth Koch (1925-2002), American poet, novelist, and playwright
Howard Koch (1902-1995), American screen writer, he shared an Oscar for his writing on the movie "Casablanca"
Billy Koch, American baseball player
Lothar Koch (1939-2023), German politician who served in the Landtag of Lower Saxony from 1994 to 2017
Heidemarie Koch (1943-2022), German Iranologist
Hans-Reinhard Koch (1929-2018), German Roman Catholic prelate, Auxiliary Bishop of Erfurt (1985–2004)
... (Another 8 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Koch family +

Bismarck

Walter Koch (1918-1941), German Matrosenhauptgefreiter who served aboard the German Battleship Bismarck during World War II when it was sunk heading to France; he died in the sinking [7]
Heinrich Koch (1922-1941), German Matrosengefreiter who served aboard the German Battleship Bismarck during World War II when it was sunk heading to France; he died in the sinking [7]
Emil Koch (1919-1941), German Maschinenobergefreiter who served aboard the German Battleship Bismarck during World War II when it was sunk heading to France; he died in the sinking [7]

Flight 191

Ms J Koch (d. 1979), American passenger from Chicago, Illinois, USA, who flew aboard American Airlines Flight 191 and died in the crash [8]

USS Arizona

Mr. Walter Ernest Koch, American Seaman First Class from Minnesota, USA working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he died in the sinking [9]

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
"Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
"Most Common Last Names in Netherlands." Forebears, https://forebears.io/netherlands/surnames
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Bismarck & Tirpitz Class - Crew List Bismarck. (Retrieved 2018, February 06). Retrieved from https://www.bismarck-class.dk/bismarck/crew/bismarck_crew.html#crew_details
Flight 191's Victims - latimes. (Retrieved 2014, April 16) . Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/1985-08-04/news/mn-4349_1_fort-lauderdale-area
Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html